My company, Paperclip, provides telephone appointment and reception services for, amongst others, medical practitioners such as physiotherapists, osteopaths, and podiatrists. Many of the practices we work with use a practice management software package called Cliniko. My team loves booking appointments with Cliniko because It’s intuitive, easy to learn and, above all, well-designed. Cliniko, as a business, also has an approach to management that is different from any other I have come across.
Cliniko’s software team is located across the world
Joel Friedlaender started Cliniko back in 2011; in fact, Cliniko turned 10 on 27 June 2021. As I write this, Cliniko has 43 employees and I understand this is soon to increase to 45. Although nominally based in Australia (which is where Friedlaender lives) the Cliniko team of software developers and customer support personnel are located across the world. One of Friedlaender’s core philosophies is to hire the best talent available and, in his words, this is unlikely to be someone within a 20-mile radius of Melbourne or, even, someone necessarily in Australia.
Cliniko advertises job vacancies in ‘less noisy places’
Cliniko advertises its vacancies in ‘less noisy places.’ In other words, it doesn’t look to mainstream job boards like Indeed, but places advertisements in forums, within software developer podcasts or web platforms created for freelancers such as www.weworkremotely.com. Recruitment is successful in attracting the right calibre of person with the right cultural fit because Cliniko offers a ‘pretty neat job’…for the right candidate.
Radical core features of Cliniko’s business management
The ‘pretty neat job’ is created by Cliniko’s approach to management which could be described as ‘light touch,’ although even that comes across as draconian! Here are just some of the core features of the Cliniko approach developed by Joel and which have been in place from the very early days of the company’s existence and which have remained in place despite Cliniko’s substantial growth:
- No job titles
- (Completely) Flat management structure: there is no seniority
- No meetings
- A 30-hour work week
- (Totally) Flexible working hours
- No timesheets
- Unlimited annual leave
- A one-page employment contract
3 big ideas: People, Autonomy and Transparency
When I first encountered this approach, it felt eccentric and off-the-wall. However, in a presentation to a conference called ‘Real Big Thing #12 (RBT #12)’
Friedlaender explained the three big ideas at the heart of the Cliniko approach to management and there is no doubt there is a coherent logic to it. The three big ideas are People, Autonomy and Transparency.
This article has already touched on the Cliniko approach to recruitment. The aim is to find the smartest talent, people who are fun to work with, often a little ‘nuts’ (Friedlaender’s terminology) and who ‘get’ and thrive on the Cliniko culture. Friedlaender believes that one of the key factors that attract candidates to Cliniko is the degree of autonomy and lack of traditional ‘management’ structures. The Cliniko philosophy is that you recruit the best people and then, get out of their way. They can work on what they want when they want and where they want. ‘Control’ is provided by peer review. If a developer writes a piece of code, then this is reviewed by a colleague. If it gets the thumbs up, the code is accepted; thumbs down and the code is subjected to a more rigorous check.
This peer-review process is also applied to those working in Cliniko’s customer support function. Responses to ‘support tickets’ are peer-reviewed and lessons drawn for future support scenarios. There is also no formal ‘escalation’ procedure, with issues resolved collectively within the customer support team. The average response time for support requests was seven minutes at the time of RBT #12.
An active community forum and more…
In 2017, however, Cliniko realised that it was only answering (i.e. picking up the phone to) 25% of incoming calls. As Managing Director of a telephone answering company, my proposed solution in such a scenario would be to use a contact centre approach, employing a specialist like Paperclip to ensure all calls were picked up, FAQs answered, and support tickets logged. Ever contrary, however, the Cliniko solution was to switch to a ‘web chat and email’ approach for support queries. In the case of Cliniko, the ‘webchat and email’ facility is just one of many support strings to its bow. There is a very active community forum where users share problems and voice concerns. To Cliniko’s credit, there appears to be no attempt to edit the inevitable occasional negative comments on the forum. Users are also able to follow Cliniko’s system status, uptime history and issue reports. There is also an extensive selection of ‘tips’ that have been featured in the regular Cliniko blogs. In the UK there is also an active Facebook Cliniko Users Group, and a Facebook Cliniq Apps Community to help Cliniko users find new clients.
The Cliniko approach is achieved by having total transparency of communications. Internal communications are managed using Slack, a business communication platform now owned by CRM giant, Salesforce. At the time of his RBT #12 presentation, Friedlaender explained that there was probably only one internal email sent out on a weekly basis.
Trust in the team
At the heart of Friedlaender’s management approach at Cliniko is his absolute trust in the team he has created. It is this trust that provides the glue that holds the business together. As he also freely admits, his approach to management has also been shaped by his own personality, likes and dislikes: a dislike of getting up early is accommodated by flexible working hours; don’t like meetings so don’t have any.
I reference the Cliniko approach to question the way ‘things are done round here’.
My initial response, as I suspect will be the response of many business owners, to the radical Cliniko approach to management was ‘It’s interesting, but it could never work here because….’ However, on reflection, I think there is a lot we can take from it, not least an opportunity to question the way ‘things are done around here’ and whether many of the systems and processes we have in place truly add value for employees and clients alike. For example, how many times have you come out of a meeting wondering why it was called and what has been achieved? Can we minimise meetings (which are incredibly costly in terms of manpower hours) or, at the very least, look to make them shorter and more effective? In many organisations I have worked in, the importance of hierarchy and one’s place in the management structure have conspired to reduce efficiency rather than improve it. It creates an internal focus rather than an external focus on clients.
Whatever your personal perspective on human nature and your management style, one thing is indisputable; Cliniko’s approach to management has underpinned the creation and continuous improvement of a medical practice management software package that is valued and even loved by the majority of its users. And that includes Paperclip!
I would like to recognise the contribution of Michelle Geslewitz (Cliniko) to the creation of this article.
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Hi, I’m Anne Batty, Managing Director of Paperclip. I am passionate about customer service. I believe enduring relationships are built on being open, transparent and trustworthy.
I love questions. So, if you have a question relating to telephone answering – pricing, technical, scope and more – I would love to hear from you at anne@paperclip.co.uk or 01246 418181.
Paperclip’s clients enjoy working with us. I know you will too.